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Wednesday, September 4

Things I managed to do

Yeah, the race report yesterday was a bit of a jumble due to a certain lack of concentration. On the drive home from the race Monday, The Pie called me when we were less than 5 minutes from the house. Our latest foster pet (who had only been in the home a couple days) bolted out the door. Once I got home, we spent hours and hours searching for her. The problem being, she was a street dog before and not too keen on getting caught, not to mention terrified of everything. She's still at large. Meh.

So yeah, the race.

I thought I was gunning for what I thought would be my first sub-nine hour time (even with the addition of more miles). I'm stupid. I didn't realize I had already done it twice.

There you have that. I'm getting older and slower (and more forgetful) no matter what.

So I didn't break nine hours this go around. What did I do?

I brought my own plate.

I love that Chris Scott encourages people to bring REAL plates and utensils to events. I bought this plate years ago for the sole purpose of being able to use my own plate at events with post-race grub. No reason that we all don't do it (unless we forget).

I hung out with friends.

The Silly Cap Club

The race really is just an excuse to get together with good people and celebrate the ending of the "season." It will be the thing I miss the most come next Labor Day. I would just go up and volunteer, but I'm allergic to doing nice things for others. Regardless, I still hold the SM100 as the standard that all hundies can only hope to live up to. It's just that good, but I'm just that lé tired.

I rode rigid.

I can't believe I rode with a fjork in '11 and '12. Stupid.

I was meant to ride rigid at the Shenandoah 100, plain and simple. If I ever forget my resolve to not do the SM100 again, I can only hope that I remember to leave the fjork at home. Yuck.

I did one flabongo for the sake of tradition, or at least in the name of trying to sustain a very young tradition.

Doing a flabongo with your shirt on it like riding a bike without a helmet, stupid and dangerous.

I came home with a most excellent prize for my 9th place. I was all ready to walk away from the schwag, not wanting to grab another trinket that will collect dust in my bike room or need given away, not needing a tire hot patched with anything other than Maxxis... but then I grabbed a small disheveled box that had been overlooked by countless others. What I got is freaking sweet, and it's all mine. Enough said, so I don't hurt someone's feelers for not being more observant.

In the interest of making next year more differenter than years before, I will be dropping SM100, as well as ORAMM... who knows what else. I may end up doing two other Chris Scott events though, the Dragon's Tale (37 miles) and the Iron Mountain 100k. Too long have I booked my "season" well in advance, forgetting all about these races just a few hours from my house. No more.

All 2013 images in this post are from the folks, all right, Thom at Dirt Wire TV. Check it out. Plenty of interviews with the really fast people as well as chuts like Watts.

I seem to remember monster trucking up that climb that he says I "rabbit walked." On the other hand, I didn't realize he finished before dark. Good for him.